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John Giannini

John won over 500 games in his career. After winning a national championship at Division III Rowan, Giannini spent eight seasons at Maine leading the Black Bears to their first two 20-win seasons in program history. He spent the next 14 seasons at La Salle where he set several school records and led the Explorers to the Sweet 16 in 2013. John began his coaching career in 1987 at Illinois, under legendary head coach Lou Henson and was the driving force for the creation of CollegeInsider.com's Lou Henson award. 


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Dec 03, 2025

DANGEROUS TEAM IN THE ACC

What a big win for Adrian Autry and Syracuse on Tuesday evening. The 62-60 win over No. 13 Tennessee follows a tough pre-Thanksgiving stretch against Houston, Kansas and Iowa State. 

Following four straight wins to open the season, Syracuse opened eyes with a tough 78-74 overtime loss to No. 3 Houston. Subsequent losses to Kansas and Iowa State had the Orange in a mini three-game slide, but there were still two big reasons to feel good about this team moving forward.

1. Both Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling returned this season. That’s the good news. Unfortunately, they haven’t always been available. Both have battled injuries going back to last season and have not always been on the floor together. The 6-foot-4 Starling played 33 minutes against the Volunteers and contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, but the 6-foot-9 Freeman hasn’t played since his 18 points and 7 rebounds against Monmouth on Nov. 18. 

That bad luck surely can't continue. 

2. Recruiting went close to perfect for Autry. He added an elite point guard in Naithan George. The honorable mention All-ACC selection finished sixth in the nation with 6.5 assists per game last season at Georgia Tech. Autry also added elite shooter Nate Kingz who shot over 44% from three last season for Oregon State. He had a season-best 19 in the win over Tennessee. 

Defense is also a big key and UCLA transfer William Kyle III has made an immediate impact. The 6-foot-9 senior had 6 blocks in Tuesday’s win. He currently ranks top 10 nationally in that category.  And Coach Autry added a pair of elite freshmen with Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White, Jr.  

All the ingredients are here. With a healthy Freeman, a high finish in the ACC is realistic.

DIFFERENT APPROACH IN HAPPY VALLEY

While most of the country is going transfer portal and experience heavy, Penn State head coach, Mike Rhoades brought in seven freshman. While at Kentucky, John Calipari admitted his “one and done” freshman approach could not win at the highest level. Therefore, some patience is warranted here in Big 10 play. 

Make no mistake that Kayden Mingo, Melih Tunca and Ivan Juric have traits to excel and build around at the Big 10 level. The trio averages 38.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per contest. When others are building one-year teams, Penn State is building a program that can stay competitive. Who does not root for that?

LIONS ROARING START

First-year head coach Kevin Hovde has literally hit the court running at Columbia. The Lions averaged just under 94 points per game over the past four. The program hasn’t had a stretch like that in nearly 50 years, while the former Florida assistant coach is the first Columbia head coach to win seven of his first eight games since 1950.

Not surprisingly, Columbia is top 20 nationally, shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc, something they were pretty good at doing in Gainesville. And just like the Gators, the Lions are great on the boards. Columbia currently leads the nation in rebound margin (15.8) and they pull down 13.5 offensive rebounds per contest.

Hovde brings a clear vision from the Florida Gators NCAA Championship blueprint along with great energy and communication skills. He inherited a roster filled with experienced seniors Avery Brown, Kenny Noland, Blair Thompson and Zine Eddine Bedri and exciting young talent providing quality depth in Mason Ritter, Miles Franklin and Connor Igoe. 

They are a legit threat to make it to Ivy Madness.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

New head coach Darris Nichols also has a clear vision for the future of La Salle basketball. Knowing who he is competing against in the Atlantic 10, in terms of NIL, Coach Nichols has built a deep roster with size, athletes and toughness. His team can rebound, they get to the free throw line at a high level, and they have good balance with five players averaging right around double figures in scoring.

Executing this well thought out plan is the goal. In games where they get some much needed 3-point shooting, they can battle the better teams in the A10. The future looks bright in Philadelphia.